Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Nilgai, How much gun is enough?

I know many of the remarks here are tongue and cheek but to answer the question about why the large caliber recommendation/requirements by many landowners who hunt Nilgai, it's mostly do to poor shot placement. Hell yea a .243 will kill a Nilgai bull if the shots well placed but it's nowhere near the most effective tool for the job. Tracking wounded game in South Texas is a brutal task that should be avoided any way you can! OBTW if someone puts this hunt together I'd sure like to participate! I'll bring my .223

There are a couple reasons for the .300 magnum minimum suggestion by nilgai guides.

1) Many still "hunt" nilgai by chasing them with vehicles. The only reason I can figure they do this is because if many Texicans can't hunt something from a stand next to a corn-feeder, then they're baffled. Shooting at running nilgai results in a lot of misplaced shots.

2) Many Texican guides are used to deer and pigs, where "premium" bullets don't make nearly as much difference, so don't have a clue about why a "premium" bullet might work better on a larger animal. Hence they're fixated on the cartridge rather than the bullet.

If you HUNT nilgai, rather than chase them with vehicles, and use decent bullets they die pretty quickly with good shot placement. The hide is very thick over the shoulders and neck of big bulls, which is why premium bullets help, rather than deer and pig bullets. But I would be quite happy to hunt nilgai with a .270 Winchester or 7x57 with premium bullets, and maybe something even smaller, though unless somebody's extremely recoil-sensitive I don't see the point.

A poor hit with a .375 H&H is only marginally (if any) better than a poor hit with a .243. A poor hit with a .375 is much more likely if it is a rifle that is borrowed, or one you only pull out of the gun safe for a once or twice in a lifetime hunt.

Nilgai, especially the bulls, are tough critters. I have seen bulls walking around with 4-5 ft of intestine hanging down out of their guts. I have seen these same bulls months later, apparently completely recovered and going about their business. I have also killed bulls that had multiple healed-over gunshot wounds. If I was guiding for nilgai (something that I wouldn't do on a bet!) I would much rather have a dude that with a rifle that will consistently place shots where they need to go, regardless of the diameter of the bullet or the headstamp on the cartridge case.

I agree that I'd rather hunt with guys that can shoot but when you hunt for hire you get all kinds. Chances of recovering a bull gut shot with a 300WM have got to be higher than one with a .243

I think the biggest difference is how they're hunted. Shooting from a vehicle (if it's not on a public road) is legal in Texas. As others have mentioned, a lot of nilgai hunting is done by guys driving around and shooting from high racks on trucks. The animal is almost always aware of the hunters and is often running. So they get a lot of marginal hits and thus a lot of ranches, including the King, ask that the hunter uses a 300 Win Mag or bigger.

I know guys who've killed them with .243's and .270's so obviously they're not bulletproof. I'd like to hunt them but have had a hard time finding a guide would take me on a spot and stalk hunt and not be phased by my using a smaller rifle (I'm not buying a .300 just for that purpose).

As for the meat, it's easily some of the best I've ever enjoyed.

In my experience, the odds of recovering one that is gut shot are not good, regardless of the cartridge. However, if you can chase them in a vehicle and shoot them multiple times, I would agree that it might take fewer shots with a .300 Mag.

And a hearty AMEN from the back row.

AHEMMM, Ed Hubels your man for the real heavies, I'm just a wanna be.

I bought that 416 R way back in '95 DF, sheesh..........

Here is a pic showing the thickness of the hide over the shoulders and neck/brisket area that Mule Deer referred too.

Wow, I had no clue. Never seen anything like that on a big game animal.

I 2nd your Wow JGRaider and raise it to a double Wow. Definitely want a stoutly constructed bullet for that.

It's called a "dermal shield". Breeding bulls "fight" by dropping to their front "knees" (actually their metacarpal joints), crossing their necks and pushing with their hind legs against the shoulder of their rival. While this is going on, they are also hooking their opponent with those short, sharp horns in the lower neck and shoulders. The dermal shield prevents those from horns penetrating deeply enough to do some real damage.

After a few moments, one bull realizes that his opponent is bigger and nastier and breaks off before any real damage is done. However, occasionally the shoulders will slip, allowing the heads to move down toward the heart/lung cavity or the abomen where the horns can penetrate the hide and inflict real damage--sometimes enough damage to prove fatal. The ones that I have necropsied that died from wounds inflicted by fights usually had multiple punctures in their lungs that hemorrhaged enough to cause the animal to bleed to death.

Punctures to the abdomen do produce some nasty looking wounds, but they are rarely fatal. The bull that I referenced in the post above had a loop of intestine literally dragging the ground, but somehow survived.

You can borrow my .300 win mag #1. Or the .300 Roy. Or the 8mm mag. just no thongs, please...

Those 500gr Woodleighs I bought for the .475 Turnbull may come in useful, after all...

Hoooooooly Smoke ! !

Jerry

Last big bull I walked up on I was on my way to the quail killin' fields back in January. He was a big un! I ease my way back to the cabin and got my 9.3x62 and came back. Tracked him to the neighbors fence.
Let's see,,,, boys that have shot em on the place have used 30/06 with 180 Partition, .338 win mag with Fed blue box ammo, and .458's and I cannot remember the bullet. We general ambush or still hunt known trails.

I knew the old game warden there in Rivera (now deceased) fav was a Ruger #1 in 220 Swift. Actually I believe he lived in Sarita. I miss him. Heck of a fellow!

An interesting story, While I was still at the gun shop spoke with one of the locals who mentioned a cousin heard a hell of a commotion in his carport/garage on the outskirts of Rivera and found two Bulls going at it as Mudhen mentioned. Evidently they had fought their way across the yard and ended up in the garage. He slew em both with a 30/06 if I remember correctly.

Cool pic. Thanks!

Seen hide like that on the neck of a bull gemsbok...but no place else....

That thick hide is also the reason they don't really leave much of a blood trail - it just seals back up preventing any leakage. I have never shot entirely through one, but have found several bullets underneath the hide on the off side. I really like the old Trophy Bonded bullets or Swift A-frames for nilgai hunting.

Or, if you like, Mr. Poobs, you can borrow my .375 H&H as I'm apparently gonna be using a .505...

... but I have to say I'm with Patrick regarding you & yer leopard-print thong...

Poobs is into light ordinance, sold a beautiful .375 H&H Whitworth.

I'm not sure if "light ordinance" has any relationship with "McFlame"...

Just asking...

DF